Post Traumatic Symptom Inventory for Children

Overview

Eisen, M. (1997). The Development and Validation of a New Measure of PTSD for Young Children. Unpublished Manuscript.

Obtain(Email/Website):

meisen@calstatela.edu

Cost:

Free

Copyrighted:

No

Measure Description:

The PT-SIC is a self-report measure of PTSD symptoms forchildren aged 4-8. It assesses the DSM-IV criteria for thediagnosis of PTSD. The language is simple, to allow youngchildren to respond to the questions in an interview format. Themeasure includes several validity questions to ensure that thechild understands how to respond and endorses everydaycomplaints.

Domain(s) Assessed :

Trauma Exposure/Reminders

Traumatic Stress

Language(s) :

English

Age Range:

4-8

Measure Type:

Screening

# of Items:

30

Measure Format:

Questionnaire

Average Time to Complete (min):

30

Reporter Type:

Self

Average Time to Score (min):

15

Periodicity:

None specified.

Response Format:

Child answers Yes or No (If Yes, specify whether it's a real lot, like almost every day, or just sometimes).

Materials Needed:

Paper/Pencil

Sample Item(s):

Domains

Scale

Sample Items

PTSD-Related Symptomatology (child)

Criteria A: Trauma Exposure

Do you ever hear gun shots around yourneighborhood? Did you ever see a car crash or a bigfire?

Criteria B: Reexperiencing

Some children think about really bad things thathappened to them. Do you think about really bad thingsthat happened to you? Do you think about these badthings a whole lot like everyday or just sometimes?

Criteria C : Avoidance

Some children can’t remember bad or scary things. Is itsometimes hard for you to remember bad or scarythings?

Criteria D : Hyperarousal

Some children can’t fall asleep because they arethinking about bad or scary things that happened. Is itever hard for you to sleep because you’re thinking aboutreally bad or scary things?

Information Provided:

Areas of Concern/Risks

Continuous Assessment

Diagnostic Info DSM IV

Dichotomous Assessment

Raw Scores

Training

Administration Training:

> Or = to 4 Hours Training by Experienced Clinician

Training to Interpret:

Training by Experienced Clinician (<4 hours)

Parallel/Alternate Forms

Parallel Form:

No

Alternate Form:

No

Different Age Forms:

No

Altered Version Forms:

No

Psychometrics

Clinical Cutoffs:

Yes

If Yes, Specify Cutoffs:

Score 2+ on a symptom indicates child meets criteria for
symptom. DSM-IV PTSD diagnosed by totaling symptoms in
each category (B,C,D) and determining if required number of
symptoms in each category are met for PTSD diagnosis.

Reliability:

Type:

Rating

Statistics

Min

Max

Avg

Test-Retest-# days: 14

Acceptable

r

0.

Internal Consistency

Cronbach's alpha

Inter-rater

Not known

Parallel/Alternate Forms

Not known

References for Content Validity:

A working group of clinicians and graduate students assessed an initial pool of 130 itemsthat were designed to assess the 17 criteria for PTSD. Following their review a pool of 101items remained. Fourteen clinicians (seven licensed psychologists and seven advancedgraduate students) who specialized in working with traumatized children were asked to ratehow well each item fit the symptom criteria it was matched to on a 1-4 scale (4=excellent,3=good fit, 2=average fit, 1=poor fit). Items with an average score of 2.7 or higher were theonly ones retained.

The instrument with 81 items was then administered to 70 maltreated children. Afterward, 51questions were dropped from the measure due to children's inability to understand andreliably answer each question. The remaining 30 items were sent out to severalinternationally recognized experts on trauma for commentary. Wording revisions were madeto these 30 items based on this feedback, resulting in the final 30 items. Consistent withDSM-IV criteria for PTSD.

Also measure does show evidence of factorial validity. It has two main factors:Reexperiencing (alpha=.74) and Fear and Hyperarousal (alpha=70).

Criterion Validity:

Not Known

Not Found

Nonclinical Samples

Clinical Samples

Diverse Samples

Predictive Validity:

Yes

Postdictive Validity:

Yes

Sensitivity Rate Score:

0.14

Overall Psychometric Limitations:

Psychometrics were collected using a sample of children aged 4-17. It is unclear how manyyoung children (aged 4-8) were sampled. Since the measure was developed specifically forthe young age range, more data and psychometric information is need with this age group.

Translation Quality

Language(s) Other Than English:

Language:

Translated

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Population Information

Population Used For Measure Development:

1. 70 Maltreated children were interviewed in the item selection phase of measuredevelopment. No ethnicity, SES, region/location/city, education level, or age range ofthese children were provided. Abuse was physical or sexual abuse, having their lifethreatened, hearing gunshots, or being in a serious accident.

2. 400 children aged 4-17 were screened. 220 children aged 4-17 were interviewed usingthe PT-SIC as part of an assessment for allegations of abuse and neglect. These 220endorsed a potentially traumatic event and were administered the full PT-SIC. Childrenwere from Mt. Sinai Hospital's Under the Rainbow Program in Chicago, Illinois. Noethnicity, SES, or education level for these children was provided.

Measure has demonstrated evidence of reliability and validity in which populations?:

Other

Use with Diverse Populations:

Population Type:

1

2

3

4

5

6

Pros & Cons/References

Pros:

1. One of the few measures developed to directly interview young children about PTSD symptoms.

Cons:

1. Some of the language still appears somewhat complex for young children.2. There are limited psychometric data available.3. Not widely used or shown valid among different cultures. No translations available.

References:

A PsychInfo search (6/05) for “Post Traumatic Symptom Inventory for Children” or “PT-SIC”anywhere revealed that the measure has been referenced in 0 peer-reviewed journalarticles.